Queen Zezanna

Queen Zezanna - Chapter 9

All in all, that could have gone a lot worse.

"I can't believe she almost killed us all." Heroth says as we walk back to the castle.

"I can't believe she let us all live." Emma mutters.

"She has a troubled heart." I sigh. "Her father wants one thing, but she wants an entirely different thing. She still believes that her father is in the right, though."

"There's no way that she would kill you." Heroth says. "She's clearly in love. Whatever you two decide to do, I shall be here to support you fully."

"Thank you." I tell him.

When we return to the castle, we all head to our respective rooms. It's late in the night, and we're all out of energy after the long walk and confrontation.

In the morning, I wake up to find a letter taped to the outside of my window. I open up, and read it.

"Zezanna. I have gathered my courage for one final confrontation. The next time we meet, one of shall die. I swear upon this. - Ysana."

I sigh, and rip the letter up.

"You need to work on your love letters." I mutter.

Someone knocks at my door, and I rush to stuff the letter into a drawer before telling them to come on in.

"Good morning, Zezanna." Heroth says, bowing to me.

"Morning, Heroth. What do you need?"

He closes the door behind him, and walks over to the window. As he looks out into the garden, he tells me "The other advisors have been talking. They believe that it is vital that you get with a prince or other noble so that you can better assert your power and right to rule."

"What? That's ridiculous!" I scoff.

"I know. Emmaline and I told them that you're doing fine by yourself, but they insist that with a king by your side, you will rule the nation better."

"I thought this crap was gonna be sidelined for a few years." I sigh.

"Most rulers have a partner beside them to help them rule. That way, they can split the workload and run the nation more effectively. Now, in reality, your workload is split between others who work in the castle, like Brokk. Nonetheless, a wealthy noble by your side can help you win over the nobles who are already on their side, as well as the peasants who live on their land."

"This is ridiculous!" I scoff. "I'll pass."

"Unfortunately, several nobles have already been invited." He tells me.

"What? When's the first one coming?"

"Prince Ingrell of Belazi is already on his way." He tells me. "He was actually vacationing at his nearby beach house when he heard about this."

"Ingrell." I mutter. His father is the king of Belazi, but is planning to pass the throne down to Ingrell's older brother eventually. This would be the only way that Ingrell would become king... Unless something happened to his brother, of course. Other than that, I don't know much about him.

"I'll get Emmaline over to lend you a hand. Our relationship with Belazi is already really good, but a marriage between you and the younger prince would cement our alliance. Of course, I understand how you feel about Ysana. Don't feel pressured into giving him an answer today."

Heroth leaves to go get some stuff ready. A few minutes later, Emma comes in to give me a hand getting ready.

"I know you've probably only got eyes for Ysana, but please at least see how you get along with Ingrell." She begs.